341/1- Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The best form of dutifulness is maintaining relations with those whom one’s father loved.”
342/2- ‘Abdullah ibn Dīnār reported that ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) met a Bedouin man on his way to Makkah, so he greeted him, offered him to mount the donkey he was riding and gave him the turban he was wearing on his head. Ibn Dīnār said: So we said to him: “May Allah make you righteous! Bedouins can be satisfied with anything you give them (i.e. what you have given the Bedouin is too much).” Upon this, ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar said: “The father of this man was one of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb’s friends whom he loved dearly, and I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) saying: ‘The finest form of dutifulness is maintaining relations with those whom one’s father loved.’”
In another narration, Ibn Dīnār reported: “When Ibn ‘Umar used to set out to Makkah, he kept a donkey with him to ride when he would get tired of riding the camel, and he had a turban which he tied round his head. One day, as he was riding the donkey, a Bedouin happened to pass by him. He (Ibn ‘Umar) said: ‘Are you not the son of so-and-so?’ The Bedouin said: ‘Yes, I am.’ So he gave him his donkey and his turban and said: ‘Ride this donkey, and tie this turban round your head.’ Some of his companions said: ‘May Allah forgive you! You gave to this Bedouin a donkey which you would ride for rest, and the turban which you tied round your head?’ Thereupon, he said: ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) saying: “One of the best acts of dutifulness is that a man maintains good ties with those whom his father loved after his death,” and the father of this man was a friend of ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him).’” [All of these narrations were narrated by Muslim]
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1) One of the greatest forms of dutifulness to parents is to honor those whom they loved.
2) The compliance of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) with the Sunnah of the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him), their desire for doing good, and their hastening to do it, and the many merits of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father).
3) One of the perfect aspects of dutifulness and maintaining of ties is to spend on the friends of one’s parents by giving them what he most likes and favors of his property.
343/3- Abu Usayd, Mālik ibn Rabī‘ah al-Sā‘idi (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “We were sitting with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) when a man of Banu Salimah came to him and asked: ‘O Messenger of Allah, is there any dutifulness to parents left that I can show to them after their death?’ He replied: ‘Yes, praying for them, supplicating for their forgiveness, fulfilling their will after their death, maintaining the ties of kinship which cannot be maintained except through them, and honoring their friends.’” [Narrated by Abu Dāwūd] [3]
To pray for them: to supplicate Allah in their favor.
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1) The dutifulness which one can show to his parents after their death is to pray for them, ask Allah to forgive them, honor their friends, fulfill their will, and to maintain ties with those to whom one is related only through them.
2) Parents should be keen on giving righteous upbringing to their children so that they would enjoy their dutifulness during their life and benefit from their supplications for them after their death.
3) The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were keen to maintain what is good and not stop doing it. A guided believer is the one who follows the example of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) in their good conduct.
344/4- ‘Āishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: “I did not feel jealous of any of the wives of the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) as much as I did of Khadījah though I did not see her, but the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) used to mention her very often, and he would perhaps slaughter a sheep, cut it into parts, and send them to the female friends of Khadījah. When I sometimes said to him: ‘It is as if there was no woman on earth except Khadījah!’ He would say: ‘Khadījah was such-and-such, and from her I had children.’” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
According to other versions of the Hadīth: “and whenever he slaughtered a sheep, he would send her close female friends a sufficient share of it.”
“and whenever he slaughtered a sheep, he would say: ‘send it to the female friends of Khadījah.’”
In another version of the Hadīth, ‘Āishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: “Hālah bint Khuwaylid (sister of Khadījah) asked permission to enter upon the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and he was reminded of Khadījah’s (manner of) asking leave to enter. He was overwhelmed with emotions thereby and said: ‘O Allah, let it be Halah bint Khuwaylid,’”
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‘From her I had children’: The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) had four daughters and three sons, all of them were from Khadījah (may Allah be pleased with her). It was only his son Ibrāhīm (may Allah be pleased with him) that he had with Māriyah al-Qibtiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her).
He was reminded of Khadījah’s (manner of) asking leave to enter: because Hālah’s voice was similar to Khadījah’s voice (may Allah be pleased with them both).
1) Honoring the deceased person’s friend after his death is considered honoring of the deceased and dutifulness to him.
2) The exclusive merit and excellence of the Mother of the Believers, Khadījah bint Khuwaylid (may Allah be pleased with her) is highlighted.
3) The graceful faithfulness of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) to his first wife who supported him and stood firmly by his side. Here is a great commandment for husbands to guard the rights of their wives after their death, so how about guarding such rights in their lives?!
345/5- Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “I set out with Jarīr ibn ‘Abdullah al-Bajali on a journey, and he would serve me. I said to him: ‘Do not do that!’ He said: ‘I saw the Ansār do (good) things to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him), so I took a pledge upon myself that whenever I accompanied anyone of them, I would serve him.’” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
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1) Whoever honors the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) should be honored, because honoring someone’s friends is like honoring him and respecting them is like respecting him.
2) The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were modest and recognized each other’s merits. Here is the example of Jarīr who served Anas (may Allah be pleased with both of them) since Anas was from the Ansār who supported the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him).